Month: April 2018

We started out in Sheridan, WY, and drove through with just a few stops, our first being a very early one for gas in Sheridan. All the traffic signals were flashing yellow.

A view from the rest area.Lewis and Clark did a lot more camping than we did.

We stopped at a rest area that was dedicated to Lewis and Clark and noticed that there was no mention of Sacajawea. Dave napped for a while. We also stopped at Wall Drug and Stephanie got to see it for the first time.

Annie Oakley.Wyatt Earp.Wild Bill.

Lunch was at a Perkins in Mitchell, SD. We got an onion ring that we used as an “anti-” symbol. We listen in on other diner’s conversations.

Our food was politically motivated.

Since we happened to be in Mitchell, Dave convinced Stephanie to go see the Corn Palace. We talk about the Corn Palace in detail.

Stephanie hitches a ride on a jackalope.Wall Drug… we have arrived!

East on 90 to Sioux Falls and then 23 up through Minnesota with one stop for beer in Granite Falls so Dave could have a nightcap.

The corn art above the stage in the enormous Mitchell Corn Palace!

We made good time today with an end mileage of 10,192 miles, 11 states, some of the most beautiful country in America and it is nice to be home.

Dave had to have his picture taken with Willie Nelson.

We talk about some of the highlights of the tour and how we managed to do it on a shoestring. We discuss what we learned and some of our plans for future.

Dave getting a little too friendly with the locals.

What a tour! Such great people, what beautiful country, amazing food and competitive games of Scrabble!

Dave lost at Scrabble last night, 333-195. His new strategy of falling asleep in the middle of the game didn’t work. Tonight he lost by only a few points, which is a step in the right direction. Dave questions the scorekeeper. The scorekeeper claims to be very honest, Dave agrees.

Feeling bullish in Sheridan.

We didn’t have coffee with our neighbor at the campground. We once again rate the Sheridan/Bighorn Mountains KOA at 2/5 tiles for several reasons. We are being generous.

Feeling sheepish in Sheridan.

We slept in a bit and then got on the road to Starbucks to use the internet. A group of older locals at a neighboring table were talking politics and especially gun control. This was recorded on the day of the mass shooting in Orlando, FL, and we are in a place where guns are welcome.

After the older locals left, a group of tattoo-covered bikers showed up and one of them removed his prosthetic leg. They then started discussing life, relationships, and books. Don’t judge people by appearances.

Horsing around in Sheridan.

We continue our discussion of gun control, or the lack thereof.

Dave really likes the expression on this dog’s face.

As we headed back to Julie’s house we took a picture of a sculpture of Sam Mavrakis, a local legend who was a veteran, sportsman and owner of a local sporting goods store. You should look him up.

Sam Mavrakis Sculpture.

Back at Julie’s house, Dave took a nap while Stephanie “Facebooked” and looked through some pamphlets.

Dave performing at the retirement community in Sheridan, WY.

After the nap we drove to a beautiful retirement community where they were celebrating their family day picnic for which Dave was playing. Great food all around and the performance was good although the PA was intermittent. A meadowlark sang along to the song “Summertime”. It was a great magical musical moment! Everyone was enjoying the show.

There was a resident who was from New York Mills, MN, and another who had been to the Mall of America. People were very interested in Dave’s 12-string guitar. We helped clean up after the show because the people there are so great.

Saying farewell to Sheridan and it’s many sculptures!

Back at Julie’s to record this podcast and get some sleep. We will be up early tomorrow to start home. It has been a long tour and we want to see our cat, Archie.

Some early morning confusion when Stephanie disappeared so Dave made breakfast. Stephanie reappeared and it all worked out.

Watch out for this guy, he won’t take crap from anyone!

Dave took care of some business at a local Starbucks (3/4 tiles) over lunch. We talked to Don, a former rodeo star who told us jokes and we got to eavesdrop on his phone call.

One of many great sculptures in Sheridan!

We saw another dude who looked like a cowboy and another with a hairstyle. We discuss Craigslist dating.

Nice kitty… nice kitty…

Scrabble scores – Stephanie won… again… by 50 points.

We went to our gig at a retirement center but had some trouble finding it. GPS has nothing on Stephanie, the ultimate navigator.

Where Buffalo Bill stayed!

It was a good gig, loads of fun. The activities director there was shorter than Stephanie. Dave’s jokes fell flat, people were singing along, people danced, and we got asked back.

I told you to watch out!

It looked like rain so we went back to the campsite and closed up the tent.

Inside the Sheridan Inn.

Then we walked around downtown Sheridan and took pictures of the amazing sculptures. Sheridan is filthy with sculptures.

The Beautiful and Historic Sheridan Inn.

It was drizzling but not unpleasant. We visited the Sheridan Inn where Buffalo Bill lived for a while. We took a look at an old steam locomotive and we noticed that the original train depot is for sale.

Dave is wondering how hard it would be to get that out of there.The old train depot.

We walked around inside the Sheridan Inn, Dave used the restroom which smelled okay.

The main desk in the lobby of the Sheridan Inn.Dave relaxing on the porch at the Sheridan Inn.

We kept running into a horse drawn wagon giving rides to a distillery. Driving back to the campsite we stopped at a liquor store and got Dave a 4-pack of chocolate stout. There were adventures being planned outside the liquor store.

This wagon kept trying to get us to go to a distillery.

Back to the KOA where Stephanie met a drunk guy and a guy with big boobs. While Dave cooked dinner Stephanie talked to the drunk from Alaska who was in town to spring his buddy from jail .

I think we met these guys at the KOA.

After dinner Dave played guitar and a woman came by with a Jack Russell terrier, Maxwell, and invited us for coffee in the morning.

So hard to resist…

This KOA has deteriorated, we give it 2/5 tiles. Restroom smells, wifi is spotty, poor showers, no rec-room.